Eden no Anokoku
by Kagaya-mitsukai
Summary: The title means Darkness in Eden. It takes place in the world of Gakuen Alice, with multiple OC additions. So, please read and review R&R . Or at least read and enjoy, and I guess that is all I can ask for. Please Regard me Kindly! KagayaMitsukai :3
1. Chapter 1

So, how exactly do we set this up?" The voice floated down and she clenched her hands into fists, then carefully unclenched them. A force smacked her hand, not dangerously but hard enough to smart. "Cooperate." said a second voice, presumably the one that smacked her. She nodded slowly, trying to show nonthreatening agreement. Still she received another smack, this one on the back of her head, and the second voice insisted she didin't move.

"Honestly," repeated the first voice, "she's still so young, don't hit her." thinking, she realized she knew that voice. It was the blond man who'd captured her. She felt her cheeks flush slightly, but she suppressed the embarrassment."I'm more than enough to take you," she snapped, "I'm eleven and you're what thirty something? And yet you need to keep me tied to a chair to subdue me?"

The first voice didn't answer, but the sight that came from the same direction sounded somewhat hurt, as if the speaker thought he'd been being nice. Nice enough to argue against her being smacked. Not nice enough to stop the smacks, or to untie her. Not nice enough to let her go home. She inhaled and exhale deeply, realizing she was about to start crying. She suppressed this feeling too. She gathered control of all her emotion and hauled them inside her, allowing cool rationality to prevail. No sorrow, no anger. Just indifference. "Where is Laerke?" she asked calmly. Or she tried to; her voice cracked slightly on the name.

The second voice interrupted, "You'll take care of this one. I'll go talk to the other." Eden tensed, the abusive voice was going to see Laerke? She automatically threw up a shield, ready to protect her friend at whatever cost. This sent a jolt of pain through her body; she'd forgotten the limitations they'd placed on her. She made no move to show she'd felt anything, her face had set to one blank expression, and there it would stay until the world was better again. The first voice spoke apologetically, "We are going to let you join here, where we can monitor you properly. If we can't get your Alice under control, then the higher ups will eliminate you. Watch yourself..." he paused, and she could hear the puzzlement in that.

"I don't have a name." she replied. Laerke called her X. Just the letter, but that was hardly a name. She didn't really want them to all her that anyway. It would seem like a poison if they said it.

The source of the voice paused. He was actually a nice person, and he felt very bad for the girl tied up in front of him, and felt bad that he couldn't help her. Maybe a name was the first nice thing anyone would give her. What wa a good name? He smiled, "then perhaps I can help. Eden Saiai." Eden blinked. "Eden like the garden? I'm not religious. And what's Saiai?"

"Eden like paradise. Saiai means..." he faded off for a moment the continued resolutely. "beloved."


	2. Chapter 2

Laerke watched the man approach. Well, she couldn't really see him, as she was blindfolded, but she could hear his footsteps approaching the chair where she was tied. "Hello," she said, "Pleased to meet you." The steps paused, he obviously had not expected her to speak.

"Shut up," said a rough voice. It was male, Laerke thought, unsure if that was a good thing or steps came behind her, and Laerke craned her head so she could follow them. Not that she could see anything, but she wanted to instinctively face her captor. The bonds on her wrists loosened, and as soon as they were free, Laerke pulled her hands forward. Even though she still couldn't see, she could feel the indents on her wrists where the rope had been too tight. He grabbed one of her newly freed hands and pulled her to her feet. "Follow me," he said

"Where are we going?" she asked. As a response she received a sharp hit on the back of her head.

"What part of shut up is hard for you?" Demanded the rough voice, Laerke flinched, expecting another blow, and was relieved not be struck again.

Finally they arrived wherever it was that they were going. The man with the rough voice pushed her into the room. He closed the door, and locked it, himself remaining on the outside. "Hello?" called Laerke, once she was shore the rough-voiced sadist could not hear her speak.

"Hello!" The response sounded happy and kind, and Laerke relaxed at once. But not very. "Pleased to meet you, I am Narumi.

Laerke waved where she imagined the voice was coming from, "Hello Narumi-san. I hope you won't mind if I don't tell you my name. May I take my blindfold off now?" Narumi paused for a moment.

"I would prefer if you didn't, but I see no real reason why not. It will do me no harm if you see me." Laerke flinched at the obvious message. They knew. She lifted her hands and untied the blindfold that was blocking her eyes. At first everything was too bright. She hadn't seen in a day or two, and even in the dimly lit room, it burned. Slowly her eyes adjusted.

In the corner of the room on a stool sat a man in what Laerke would guess to be his late twenties. In front of him was another still, which Laerke sat daintily on. The man had blond hair that fell to just above his shoulders, and bright purple eyes. Under one eyes were two little dots, that matched her friend's scar. Speaking of her friend.... The room itself was barren, concrete walls in a perfect cube, the ideal prison. But just next to Narumi was a girl the same age as Laerke, eleven, sitting in a chair. Her hands were tied the same way Laerke's had been, but rather than just tying the wrists together, the rope was wrapped around the girls arms, so they were firmly attached to the chair, there was no way for the poor girl to escape. The rope also covered the girls middle, making her entire upper body completely inmobile. The girls eyes were not just covered with a makeshift blindfold, but with what looked like a ski mask without eye holes. Where the mask ended at the girls neck, she wore a choker, so there was no way for anyone to pull of the mask without removing the necklace first. The necklace was locked shut. Her legs were tied together, and were also attached to the chair.

"W-What happened to her," Laerke gestured at the girl, pretending she didn't recognize her. But she did, even under all the coverings, it was her best friend, who she had known since she was about four. There was no need for this child-tying-up man to know that.

Narumi watched her closely, looking for signs of recogniztion. "Not my idea," he said sighing, "But I couldn't persuade her to cooperate," he reached up and fidgetted with his earing, which Laerke had not noticed he had. After a moment, he took it off.

The tied up girl, flinched, but Laerke barely noticed. All her attention was focused on the man, who was suddenly quite...she fished for a word...irresistible. She felt her face flush, as she looked into the strangers eyes. "So, Do you know her?" asked Narumi.

Suddenly, Laerke couldn't lie to that man. She felt her heart skip a beat. "Yes, She's my best friend. Can I see her please. I don't know why she's in that bag thing, But Idoubt she likes it. And I'm afraid that I actually do knw why, and if I'm right-" Laerke cut herself off, and turned a darker shade of crimson. She was babbling, he would hate her now. "I'm sorry," she said, suddenly.

Narumi sighed, and replace the earing. It was obvious to him that Eden's protection had failed, and that Laerke was helpless, in which case, he didn't even need to bother taking it off. 'Hush, it's okay." He said, smiling slightly. Laerke walked toward him uncertainly. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked shakily.

"Sure, tell me your name." Laerke flushed again. This was the fate of people with pale skin, any embarassment litterally visable on them. "I-I-I'd rather not. What did she tell you?" she gestured at the girl in the ski mask.

"She said she didn't have one, so I gave one to her." Laerke paused, then nodded. "D-Do you think It would be to much to ask, if you could give me one too? Please?"

He paused, wondering if there was something about him that seemed worthy of a 'namer'. "I named her Eden. So, How about Eve. Eve Hadankyou"

**Thank you for reading this far! Thank you for reviewing (hint hint!) Next chapter will (probably) involve the main characters. And No, Narumi is NOT a sketch! ~KagayaMitsukai :3**


	3. Chapter 3

**No one is reading this T.T Oh well, serves me right for not logging on is so long. Well, forgive me people who once read my stories! . Come back!!! *cries pitifully* ah well. If you read this, please review, even if it is anonymous, I just need the encouragement (or the knowledge that ppl bother to read these things, so even if you hate this, review please)  
**

Narumi led the girls into the room. It was his classroom, a boisterous place where none of the sttudents liked to behave. This was because Narumi himself, as the teacher, was almost never there, and his substitute, Fukatan, had no control over the class. "Narumi!" sobbed Fukatan. The whole class suddenly quieted down as Narumi walked in through the large oak doors. No one disobeyed Narumi, worried about the embarrassment he could inflict with his Alice.

"Hello Class," Narumi said cheerfully. He was wearing his frilly white shirt partially unbuttoned so the numerous necklaces he wore were clearly visible. No one new if they were restraining jewelery or not, but they knew that his earring was, and didn't particularly want to find out. He surveyed the room, mentally taking attendance. To his surprise, Natsume and Ruka (as well as their little minions) were all their, normally they walked out before he entered. Perhaps today he had caught them by surprise.

The cliques of the class split up naturally. The back left was Natsume and Ruka. No one dared sit in the same row as them, and so they were mainly alone. around them were the followers, male and female, and in the front, Mikan, Hotaru, Anna, Nonoko, and Yuu all payed attention the now though, eveyone payed attentopn as a girl they had never seen entered the room.

"I'm not the new girl anymore," Mikan said excitedly, as she watched the girl who entered. Her hair was black, strait, and long, tied in an unkempt ponytail that reached between her shoulder blades. It covered her eyes, but her skin was a pale ivory that suggested she had been inside for to long. Mikan blinked when she realized that under the girl's uniform she wore jeans, a solution that would have fixed many of Mikan's problems with Natsume. The girl did not so much walk as saunter, painfully slowly, to the front of the room, her presence making the quiet room tenser. Finally she reached the center of the room, and pulled the hair out of her face to see the class.

Or perhaps that wasn't why she pulled the hair out of her face. Everyone started when they realized she wore a mask. Not a restraining cat one like Natsume wore, but a simple mask that most people would use to keep light out of their eyes when they slept. "Hello," The girl said. Her voice was a little rough, and sounded like she had not used it in a while. "My name is Eden Saiai, pleased to meet you all." Een as she said this, she didn't smile, and Mikan had the distinct impression tat she wasn't pleased at all.

Narumi beamed. "So please be kind to your new friend. Who would like to be her partner." No one moved. Even Yuu couldn't persuade himself to offer friendliness. "So be it. Eden, your partner will be Ruka Nogi. Have a great first day."Narumi turned towards the door.

"Don't leave me Narumi-sensei!" Fukatan called, as the teacher left, "They'll kill me!"

"Nonsense. I leave it to you." Narumi rounded the corner and disappeared. Fukatan turned back toward the class of students, and whimpered. The class returned to chaos and all hope that Class B would learn anything that morning disappeared.

* * *

Eden wished she could see where she was going. Trying to figure out where to sit would be a process she wasn't looking forward to getting used to. Wen everyone started to talk at once, it was her voice that cut through the crowd. "Someone is going to have to show me where to sit down." She said.

Iincho leaped up. "Come sit with your partner," He said, "I'll show you where Ruka is." Eden turned toward the voice, and Yuu understood the look without even needing to see her eyes. "Oh, yes, Hello, My name is Yuu Tobita, I am the Class Representative. Pleased to meet you Saiai-san."

"Pleased to meet you Iincho." She replied. "So where is this Ruka?" Yuu led her down the isles to the back of the room. It's a good thing she an't se, he thought, else Shodo-san's glares might scare her.

In the back of the room, a startled Ruka watched his partner's slow approach. "Natsume, can she sit with us?" He asked, unsure if his friend would mind this girl. His friend, who was at that moment relaxing with an open book covering his face, shrugged slight. Taking that as permission, he turned to Iincho and Eden, who had found the isle.

Eden had her hand in front of her slightly so she would not bump into anyone. When someone touched it lightly, she looked up sharply, not that that helped, at the person. "Hello Saiai-san," said a new voice. "My name is Ruka Nogi, I guess I'm your partner. I have never had a partner before, I have only been here two years, but if you need any help, just ask." He looked questioningly at Yuu, as if for approval, and so the boy nodded encouragingly and the two helped Eden to her seat.

Natusme, who had been watching all this with general disinterest, snorted. Eden looked in his direction quizitively, and so Ruka was obliged to explain. "Eden, this is Natsume Hyuuga. He is sitting to my right, so he is about two seats away from you."

At that moment, Jinno arrived, and so begun the day. After Jinno's math, they sat through sceince with Misaki, Social Studies with Makihara, English with Yamada. When the last class or the day ended, Japanese with Narumi, Eden turned to Ruka.

"You said to ask you ifI needed anything. Can you just help me get over to Narumi-sensei? I need to talk to him."

Ruka, puzzled, nodded. Then when she didn't react, he realized that she couldn't see him so spoke aloud. "Okay. He is just at the front of the room. This way." As he egan to lead her out of the isle, Natsume rolled his eyes.

"She doesn't really need you to hold her hand Ruka," he said.

"She can't see." Ruka protested.

Sumire had been keeping herself in line all class, and now had no reason to. Once anyone had been insulted or dismissed by Natusme, they were fair game. "If she really wants to see him, Ruka-kun,. she can walk to him by herself. Why do you wear that mask anyway?" The last part had been directed at Eden, who shrugged.

"I don't really want to either." She said, mainly to herself. Only Ruka heard, though everyone heard what she said next. "Thank you, Ruka. I'll go the rest of the way myself." Her low voice sounded nonthreatening, but the way she carried herself caused people to clear the isles.

Mochaige-kun, the telekenisis alice, stuck his foot out in the isle as she walked through. She tripped. The girl puled into a ball, slapping the ground where she hit, used the momentum to roll back onto her feet. Miakn grinned, and clapped her hands together, and Anna and Nonoko followed suit.

Eden ignored the quiet applause, and the person who tripped her, though had been watching her closely, they would have noticed that her shoulders were taught andher hands were curled into fists. However, everyone watched Natsume to see hwo he would react to the applause. He ignored it.

"Saiai-san? Can I help you with something?" Narumi asked. He had seen her walking towards him, but had too been interested in Natsume reaction, and had not made any sign of noticing her until then.

She smiled sweetly, "May I talk with you for a moment?" She asked, and it was apparant to all who watched that she hated the teacher. He returned her smile, and taking her hand, led her into the hall. Natsume took that to mean that class was dismissed, and after he left, so did everyone else.

* * *

The girl sat in the dark. And, she added miserably, the damp. Cold and went, she hugged her knees, and breathed onto her hands, wishing she was anywhere but where she was. The door opened. "Why, Hello." Said a cold voice. She didn't bother looking up, it wouldn't matter, the problem with being in the dark, was that it was hard to see. "So, your name is Laekre?"

"Eve." The girl replied numbly. It was the first thing she had said to the voice, who had come and visited a few times before that day, and had already dealt his fair share of threats.

The voice chuckled. "Whatever you wish. But, I have some questions, and I think you are going to answer them."

**Thank you for reading my story! Please review (I feel like writing that becomes repetitive, but no one does...) and I'll try to update soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, Here is the next chapter. As always please R and R. I think eventually I'll just let that be assumed, I hate repeating myself.....**

Eve hurt. It was one of those drawback of being hit. Pain. At the moment, she was curled up in a ball at the back of her cell thanking every god she could think of that she had Eden. Otherwise this would be much worse. Though, she added, trying anything to keep her mind of the pain, perhaps had she not met Eden, ,she would have been sold with Sven and Vlad, and then not be in pain now. Or worse pain.

She didn't like to think about Sven and Vlad. Or Ryuko. Or Em. Which brought her back to why she was here, and why she was in pain. Pain. Eve's mind could't take it. She felt the cool emptiness of unconsciousness, and ran eagerly towards it, away from both mental and physical pain. On the floor of the cell under the Hana-hime palace, Eve fainted.

* * *

"What did you want to talk about?" After her first real test in the classroom, Eden was in the teacher's office, talking to Narumi.

She resisted the urge to hit him. Or to be angry. She imagined taking a deep breath and letting it go, but even that would show emotion, and so she just looked at him blankly. "This mask," She said, facing where she imagine he was, as she couldn't see, "is ridiculous and trying. I understand why you want me to have it, but we have reports of nullifying Alices here, just give me a stone, or a lot of restricting jewelry, but let me take this thing off."

He watched her carefully, looking for any hint of deceit. Then he sighed, "Our 'nullifier' is in your class and doesn't know how to make alice stones yet." Eden blinked. She knew how to make an Alice stone, it didn't seem that hard to her, and she wondered who in her class would be to stupid to figure it out. "And even if she did, your alice could take care of it easily. Which reminds me, you are not to tell anyone of you other alice."

Eden blinked at this instruction, then wiped the surprise from her face. She hadn't been planning to talk about it anyway, she hated that alice, but she did not like orders. "In exchange for the mask's removal." She said, "Otherwise I'll go tell them all right now."

Narumi sighed. He hated the position the school and this girl was forcing him into. What could he do though? "Fine." He said, ,trying to sound resigned, because he knew it would make her happier.

If Eden was happier at her seeming victory, she made no sign of it. "How long until you let Laerke out?" She asked.

Narumi sighed again. His students were so difficult. "She asked to be called Eve now, not Laerke. But it is not my decision, it depends on how soon she agrees to do whatever it is that Serio wants of her." he faded off, then tried to sound less pessimistic. "Maybe I can perusade him to let you visit her." He finished lamely.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about all the typos up till now. Sorry about all the ones I am about to type . Thank you for reading and reviewing. Either in this Chapter or the next, I'll start to introduce a lot of new OCs, so bear with me.  
**

Narumi was in the middle of a heated discussion with Serio, otherwise known as (first chapter) voice #2."You ought to let her go! Anything she knows she has already told you. Or, you could let me talk to her, my Alice would have her speaking in no time." They sat in a plain box room in the hana-hime castle's basement. it was a perfect box, grey carpeted floors, a grey carpeted walls. A square table was in the center of the room and the two sat in two chairs. One wall, behind the chair where Serio sat, was a mirror. There was no doubt in Narumi's mind that this was one of the 'interrogation' rooms, and that behind the mirror someone was watching them.

"Even if she has told everything, we can't lose the advantage over Horus." Serio replied calmly.

Narumi gritted his teeth together. "Her name is Eden, and before she is Horus she is an eleven year old girl who wants her best friend."

"No, before she is a 'just a girl,' she is Horus. Must I remind you all of the problems that little skank caused?" Serio prevented himself from raising his voice.

"Then, Eve, surely she caused no problems." Naru argued.

Serio glared at his colleague. "Caused no problems? Do you really want her and Horus working together again? We won't be able to hold them."

"What if we put trackers in both of them and told Hor-Eden that if they caused problems we would have to shut Eve away again. Then they'll behave."

"I will consider it. But we still have to see if we can trust your 'Eden' without the mask. Place her in Special Ability."

Narumi blinked, "But she isn't just spec-"

"We are going to continue to pretend that her other Alice does not exist. A reflection alice would place her in the Special Ability Class. Nodachi understands this, and will keep an eye on her." Serio's response was cool and final. "I am going to have Semira take care of this Laerke, the girl can join our school only when Semira deems it fit."

Narumi scowled. "I don't trust Semira with young girls. Eve doesn't deserve that."

Serio chuckled. "With Semira, the time it takes for your 'Eve' to be allowed out will be less. Besides, they are the same age, so I'm sure they'll just connect."

Narumi hissed through his teeth, irritation and helplessness building up. "Fine." He left the room, slamming the door behind him. With the door shut, no light was visible in the room. Serio smiled, enjoying the feel of the dark surrounding him, and then stood and exited the room.

* * *

"Mira-chan!" A sing-song voice echoed though the halls of the girl's apartment. If you could call it that. Her own private wing was the mark of luxery, the highest the school had to offer, except for, of course, that it was in the basement. At that moment, The girl was lying on her bed, book open in front of her, feet kicking back and forth in the air. When Serio entered the room, notbeg to knock, she had not moved at all, and the book title was invisible, covered by the black scarf that draped around the girl's neck.

He paused, wondering what he was interrupting. She hadn't reacted yet, short red hair cropped short of the girl's ears was all he could see of her face, as she read on, ignoring his summons. "Mira-chan."

Finally she turned over. Semira had deep blue eyes that seemed to reflect whatever they saw. At that moment, she was wearing small golden hoop earring, ,which glinted sharply in contrast with scarlet-dyed hair and ivory skin. "Reply to friendly greetings with a smile, and at least pretend you care about what the speaker says." she recited in a bored voice. "What can I do for you Serio? You haven't had a job for me in a while."

"We found one of Horus' partners." Serio started. "She has the disguise Alice, so don't trust appearances."He leaned against the door. "She's in room 221. Last seen with blond hair and blue eyes, she looks German."

Semira rolled out of bed, not bothering to put a bookmark in the book, but rather just letting it close behind her. "What do you need to know?" She asked, approaching the door.

Serio tossed her a key chain. Without bothering to look, she caught it. "Same as we always ask Horus' partners. Where is Adam?" Semira nodded as she passed and took barely seconds to disappear down the hall.

Serio, about follow, paused to glance at what she had been reading. It was one of her psychology books. 'Stay Sane in your Crazy Life: Advice from the best Psycologists in the Country.' read the title. Serio grinned. As if that would work, he thought, and turned to leave.

* * *

When Eve came to, she had been moved. The cold dark room that had been her cell was gone, and in its stead was a nice clean, if a tad intimidating ... room? It seemed to be that, but the walls and floor were all covered in gray carpeting, ,except for the wall behind her, where there was a mirror that spanned, window-style, the entire wall. She sat in a wooden chair, in the center of the room, and in front of her was a table with a matching chair on the other sighed. The chair was unoccupied. It was the same room where Narumi and Serio had argued merely hours before.

She blinked. in front of her was a glass of tea, with a small tag on it. In an elegantly scrawled handwriting, the note said, 'For Eve. Feel free to drink. Please call when you wake up.' Unsure how to call, Eve surveyed to room again. No telephone. A glint on one wall caught her eye. A doorknob. As she walked over she was relieved to realize that it was attached to a door, which also had been covered in carpet, making in almost indistinguishable from the wall.

Eve closed her eyes so that she could focus, and used her Alice. In a matter of seconds she was a bald overweight middle-aged man. Confident with her disguise, she reached for the doorknob. Sadly, nothing was that easy. It was locked. Rather than waste her energy, Eve returned to her normal self and took a seat. As there was nothing else to do, sipped some tea and waited to see what would happen.

* * *

"I'll show you to our class!" Said an overly happy voice as school began. Eden turned slowly to face the source, and met eyes with a blond pig-tailed girl. The Blondie blinked. "Woah! Your not wearing a mask."

Eden nodded slowly, devoid of emotion. "Yes." She replied simply. "But I do not know who you are, I could not see you yesterday." She said blandly.

"Oh, yes. I'm Mikan Sakura. The only other Special Ability in the class. I figured you wouldn't know where to go, so I thought I'd help." She trailed off.

"Thank you. I still do not know where the class is."

Mikan paused. This whole no emotion thing was starting to freak her out. Then again, Hotaru had trouble expressing herself too. "O-okay! This way." She said, resolving to be the new students close friend.

* * *

**Writing this in cuts is actually quite fun. Slowly a plot line might actually develop :O Can you imagine, a fan fiction with a plot!? Gasp. How unusual. Anyway R&R.**

** ~KagayaMitukai :3 **


	6. Chapter 6

**More Typoes ftw! Woot! Now you can all read yet another chapter where both my keyboard and my typing skills faile (yes the 'e' is intentional) epically! YAY! Please R & R **

The door squeaked open. As light streamed in, the silhouette of an eleven year old girl was apparent. There was someone behind her. The girl had short read hair and hooped earrings, and she was carrying something. A scarf was looped around her neck, and she wore a grey sweater over jeans. The man behind her was less interesting. He wore a suit, plain and grey, and his military style shaved head attracted no attention.

Eve squinted as the door closed again. The red head sat down in the chair across from her, and crossed her legs. The man stood by the wall, his suit working almost as camouflage. She straitened a file of papers. The silence was deafening. After a never-ending second, she looked up and spoke. "Eve, right? Eve... Hadankyou?"

"Yeah."

The red head removed a paper from her file. "This is Narumi. He is the one who named you, according to your file. Is this correct?" The site of the blond man made Eve flush. She examined the photo. It was him, complete with the earring and two dots under his left eye.

"Yeah."

"Do you mind telling me what your name was before he gave you a new one?" The question was phrased harmlessly, but Eve looked up at this and met the red-head's mirror eyes with her own sky blue ones.

"Yes. I do."

The red head sighed. "Please don't force my hand this early. We aren't the government, and so we really couldn't care less about your rights. Just answer the questions. Anyway, we already have you on file as Laerke, we got the name from Horus." She sounded like she was reciting facts, but Eve could sense the challenge underneath the nonchalant speaking style. "Tell me about Horus."

"No."

The red head, who was at that point, quite obviously Semira, set the file down on the table. "I see."

Eve's screams could be heard all through the Hana-Hime quarters.

* * *

The door squeaked open. However, the doors hinges were quickly overpowerd by the sheer amount of noise inside. 'Welcome Newbie,' was written in a large messy script in a banner hung across the ceiling. Streamers decorated the room, and confetti was being thrown left and right.

"I brought her Tsubasa-senpai!" Mikan called, waving.

Cries of "She's here! echoed through the room, and a make-shift line appeared in front of her as twenty or so rambunctious students gathered together and started to sing the worse constructed welcome song Eden had ever heard.

When the song ended, they all bowed, and a group stepped forward. "Hello, Kouhai!" Said a grinning blue haired boy. To his right twin girls with pink hair smiled simultaneously.

"Misaki-senpai, you are in two again." This was Mikan. The twins blinked, and formed into one person. Eden stared.

The one person, who still had unbelievably pink hair, smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I forgot. My name is Misaki Harada. This is Andou Tsubasa."

Eden spun around as another voice came from behind her. "and I'm Nodachi, your teacher."

Mikan grinned broadly. "Nodachi! You're here."

The teacher grinned, "Someone told me that we had a new student here today." He glanced around the room, as if he hadn't noticed yet.

Eden recognizing the cue, bowed. "I am Eden Saiai. Pleased to meet you." When she stood again, Mikan had the same impression as she had the first time Eden had introduced herself. It was most emphatically not nice to meet them. Nodachi returned her expression with a matching one. Which was odd, as Nodachi always smiled.

Misaki and Tsubasa exchanged matching glances filled. "So if we're all here, we have prepared cake soda and ice cream, to make a party. Let's celebrate the arrival of Saiai-Kohai!" Misaki suggested.

The awkward atmosphere was destroyed by the cheers of the Special Ability Class. "Saiai-kohai!" Tsubasa took Eden's hand, and led her over to the food, ignoring the startled and mildly displeased expression on her face as she found her hand an upperclassman's hostage. Getting himself a slice of cake, Tsubasa breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was alright. For now.

* * *

The door squeaked open. Narumi, had been sitting in the dark, simply thinking, but now Serio stood at the door, blocking the exit, simply watching him. Resisting the urge to grimace, his classroom had beem defiled by one such as Serio. "Can I help you?" He asked, hoping the masked man would leave.

"We have the location." Serio said. "We're sending in you and Makihara-sensei. Yamada will monitor the scene and Misaki-sensei will be providing you with bean whips and the such. Can you do it?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Serio's lips curled slightly into a cruel smile. "No."

Narumi sighed, rubbing his eyes. "How did you find out the location?" He asked, not sure he wanted to know. Still whatever they put Eve through, he ought to know, it was, if only in part, his fault. Eden certainly saw it that way.

"Semira can be very persuasive." Serio's voice sent chills dow Narumi's spine, leaving him feeling cold. "I must go tell the other teachers. See you tonight, Narumi-sensei."

Narumi shuddered again, and Serio left. As the door swung shut, Narumi was left in the dark again. His classroom seemed small, insignificant. On some sudden resolve, Narumi stood, and walked out of the door, headed in the oppisite direction as Serio.

**Thank you for reading :P**


	7. Chapter 7

**The hardest part of writing these is that every new chapter I write, I delet theold chapter and write it in the same file. So I delete all that work and restart :'( It's quite depressing. No wonder I never get anything done...**

"Are we safe for the evening?" A boy with short dark how sat on a brick wall staring out in front of him. He wore a collared t-shirt with some of the buttons undone, making it seem as if he hadn't really cared about putting it on. Behind him a small warehouse lay, surrounded by the wall upon which he sat, swinging his legs back and forth, adressing the boy sitting next to him.

The other boy wore a Karate Gi, brown belt tied around his waste, and he watched the sky. A mop of bright blue hair stood out eben in the twinkling gloaming which quickly was fading into darkness. Taking his focus off the moon, the boy closed his eyes and answered the question. "Yes."

The first boy didn't relax yet, still scanning the horizon for signs of life. They were in the middle of no where, there was nothing as for as he could see, just their home, and dirt. Not even trees, he thought, surveying the area. We would see whoever was coming. "You may have a twisted definition of safe. Do they know where we are?"

"Yes."

"Are they coming tonight?"

"Yes." The blue haired boy blinked as he said this, looking as startled as his darker haired counterpart. Both slipped off the wall and ran toward the warehouse it surrounded

"And you call that safe!?" Shouted the dark haired boy irritably.

Between breaths the other boy replied, "It isn't my fault. I guess I have a twisted definition of safe." The first boy reached the door first, and through it open. "Adam?" He called, the reverberations answering in kind from all sides.

"Yes Em?" The man had a dark goatee, a sure sign of evil. He was bald, but sill looked relatively young, not in his thirties dark haired boy, presumably Em, was panting, so his friend answered for him.

"They're coming."

* * *

Semira lay on her bed again, reading. Her feet kicked back in forth again, and her eyes darted back and forth taking in the text in front of her. It was evening, or so claimed the clock on the wall. There were no windows in her room. Otherwise someone might see in,, and then realize that she existed... Waving herself off that train of thought, she finished the chapter.

_Often smiling can help keep you in a better mood. Even when you're upset or angry, a smile can relieve stress. Everyone has days when they are about to tear out all of their hair, but that is completely unhelpful, because then you are bald, have hair in your hands, and your head hurts. So instead, a forced smile will actually help bring a cheerier attitude, and all you have to do is remind yourself that everything will get better. This is a tip for those times when you forgot to put dinner in the oven, and the kids are cranky, and your husband is late, and everything seems to be going wrong. But laughter is the very best medecine, and the key is to remain calm and happy. _

Semira smiled wryly, closing the book. She wasn't really the target age group. Still, it reminded her that she was supposed to eat at 6:30 exactly. She glanced at the clock. It was six o'clock. If she started cooking now, she could have finished the task and be back to reading by 6:30, and Kazu-nii wouldn't complain about having to look over her. Stretching as she rolled out of bed, Semira headed to her own private kitchen.

Not existing in the outside world had its advantages. No shared space.

* * *

Eve clutched her knees, shuddering.

_"Do you know where they are, Eve-chan?" _The voice haunted her. She squeezed her eyes shut, and put her hands over her ears, willing it to go away. _"Let me introduce myself to you. I have a lot of names, actually. My favorite of which is Irkalla. Do you recognize the name, Eve-chan?"_

Eve realized to her horror she was crying. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to betray you." She said to no one, shaking back and forth. "I'm dorry. It's all my fault. Forgive me." She sobbed. "Be safe."

Eve felt something dark near the back of her mind. Oblivion. The pain and horror of the world seemed to sharp, to real for her, and she, for the second time that day, sank into the blissful calm of unconsciousness.

* * *

**Yay! I introduced two new characters! And you don't know their names yet :P Well, keep reading. ~KagayaMitsukai :3**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight and I'm still introducing characters. I'm sorry, my story is to complicated....**

"Listen to me." The black haired boy had both hands on his friend's shoulders. "Get out of here. You can't fight. Take the money, and flee." A loud noise came from outside, and both boys flinched, staring as the door shook. They had fled to the wine cellar, but soon even that would be taken. "Get out of here!" He hissed.

His friend stepped backward, out of the other boy's grasp. "I won't leave you."

"Don't be stupid. You don't know how to fight them, that was always X's job. You are our planner. Escape." The door shook, as someone rammed it. "They'll brake the wards soon. But get out the back door and run. I can stall."

"I can't abandon you."

"Don't go for heroics. They're idiotic. Go out that door now, and flee or I will never forgive you."

The blue haired boy put his head to his hands. "What will happen to you?" He asked despondently.

"I asked you earlier if we'd be safe. That was plural. Don't worry about me." Without waiting for another word, he pushed his friend toward the back door. Stumbling forward, realizing that he was running for his life, the boy slammed the door behind him and ran off into the distance.

The dark haired boy set his jaw, and through open the door. Now for the biggest diversion they had ever seen.

* * *

Eden watched the sunrise. She lay on the roof of the elementary dorms, hands behind her head, as she had been lying all night. The stars had been beautiful, but now the sun peaked over the horizon, driving them away. It must be around five. Or four. Her eyelids felt heavy, but she didn't want to sleep. Something important was happening, had happened, would happen soon. She didn't know which one, but she wouldn't sleep through it.

Choosing a single star to observe, Eden watched as the star's light twinkled and then faded, gone until the next night. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the peace of solitude.

* * *

Eve stood and brushed herself off. This was disgusting. She was lying on the floor of an interrogation room cheeks salty from tears, and she looked terrible. Luckily, one of the walls of the room was a mirror. This was of course actually a one way window, but this dd not stop Eve from going over to it, and brushing her long hair out with her fingers. That wouldn't cut it, she needed a hair brush.

Annoyed that she couldn't clean up properly, Eve shifted to the appearance of a twenty year old, though she still looked like herself. She pulled her now even longer hair up into a bun, using the hair itself as a scrunchy, and changed her outfit to a woman's dress suit. There, she looked much more professional. Feeling much better, she walked over to the hidden door, and tried to open. It was, of course locked. Even Eve couldn't simply create bobby pins out of thin air, and so she sighed, and plopped back down in the chair in the center of the room, waiting for something to happen.

A few minutes later it did. The red head walked in, holding of tray of some sort. "Good morning Eve. You look nice." She said happily, placing the tray on the table. More hot tea, and two corn muffins lay on it. "Please choose a muffin, you must be hungry."

Eve glared at her torturer momentarily, before she reigned herself in. "Why are there two?" She asked suspiciously.

"Because I need to eat too. Besides this way, you can choose a muffin, and I'll eat the other, and you'll know they aren't poisoned because I'm eating too." It was sound logic, and Eve calmed herself down the rest of the way, deciding that overly strong emotions were unhelpful here. The red head continued speaking, "When we're done eating, I set aside a room for you so you can take a shower and get a good night's sleep."

Eve paused. "But we're eating breakfast." She said automatically, forgetting that she was speaking to her archenemy, that there were more important things than time of day, and grabbing a muffin.

The red head took the other muffin, and took a bite. "Time doesn't really matter here. No windows." That explains why you're so pale, Eve thought, but if time doesn't matter, why are you wearing a watch? Still she said nothing. The rest of their meal was eaten in silence. Sure enough though, after they finished eating, the red head showed Eve to a room. The first thing she did was return to her true self, as she was getting tired of holding a different form. She than showered and combed out tangled hair. When she found the bed in the corner, a brief nap seemed like a good idea. She was asleep before she hit the mattress.

* * *

"I think she is harmless." Semira was stretching as she spoke, first putting one arm behind her head, then the other. They were in the gym, or the closest thing they had for a gym. It consisted of mats, two ellipticals, one stair climber, and three bikes. And a set of monkey bars. At that moment Semira was on the mats, stretching.

"Careful. Normal people can't go that far." Serio caught her arm as she pushed it, and showed her exactly how to hold it for a proper stretch that would not result in any broken limbs. He stood off the mats, shoes on, and mask off. Without his mask on he seemed much less creepy, and right now, in the depths of his home, he was perfectly comfortable. After she thanked him, he continued. "Are you sure?" He said, "I don't trust her. She is a born liar."

Semira leaned down and touched her toes. "That was my first thought too, but she seems to be honest. How old is she really? I think she is just a scared little kid."

Serio arched a single eye brow. "She is the same age as you are, and has been living on the outside for as long as we've known about her existence."

Semira sat down, and curled into butterfly position, touching her head to the floor. "Well she acts younger than that, and I don't think its an act. I can tell the difference between honest confessions and planned confessions. Its amazing what people will forget..." She trailed off, and Serio nodded. He understood.

"You should probably go see Subaru about your arm. I didn't mean to touch it." Serio shrugged almost sheepishly.

"Oh?" Semira paused, and glanced at the arm he had repositioned moments before. Sure enough, a large hand shaped bruise had developed. "I hadn't noticed. Alright then, see you later. Still think about letting her go. I'll keep monitoring her for you." Semira, holding the bruised arm gently with her other hand, left, leaving Serio standing all alone in the gym, thinking.

* * *

**I'm sorry that Serio is really out of character. In the manga, he's really only portrayed as that person people are afraid of though, so I don't really know how he would act with people who aren't terrified of him. (excuses excuses, shame on you) I'm really sorry though, I hate misportraying characters. . ~Kagayamitsukai :3**


	9. Chapter 9

**And I keep writing. Really slowly. School ends in a few weeks. Congratulations to the Graduates of 2009! :)  
**

He ran. What else was there to do? No other solution. At least, he though bitterly, he knew the way. He could be running out into the vast unknown. As it was, he never strayed to far from the road and never stopped running. It was amazing how far adrenaline could take you.

Not far enough. He collapsed as soon as the building where he had abandoned his best friend was out of sight. The airport. That was where they had always fled to before, it was the safest place to go. Out of this cursed country where he had lost his three only friends in the course of a week. He forced himself up again and kept walking.

He didn't know how long it was before he reached the city. They had deliberately chosen an out-of-the-way hideout. How stupid of us, he thought, staggering down a street, and then another. He didn't know his way around the city. But then again, if he didn't know where he was, how could they? He wasn't important enough to follow. The boy dragged himself into an abandoned alleyway, the kind only stray cats really knew existed, and fell. Lying sideways on cement, the boy slipped into sleep.

* * *

It hadn't been hard to come up with something. As soon as the door slammed shut behind his fleeing friend, the black haired boy had yanked the door open, breaking the wards that had kept the teleporting alices out. It did not take him long to discover who was in charge, they were the ones shouting orders. "Hurry, break down that door." The man was in his early twenties, blond hair cut to just after his shoulders. Remarkably effeminate.

"Please to meet you." he said, trying to act nonchalant, while hoping his friend to get away. He wished for a moment that he had a more spectacular alice, and that all of these people would fall down to the ground screaming or grovelling or trying otherwise to get out of the way, thereby securing his friends escape.

He removed the glove from his left hand, and then his right, and tucked them into his pocket, leaving pale skin exposed. There were tan lines around his upper arms, where the gloves went up to, implying that he almost never removed them. Smiling slightly, he touched the closest man.

Who started, stepped back, and collapsed to the ground. "W-what did you do?" Asked the blond teacher, staring at his colleague in horror.

"He forgot how to walk." The boy answered simply, and reached to touch someone else. The man jumped out of his way. Hmm. Well yes, that could qualify as spectacular. Or at least, it would have, had the blond man not reached for his earring.

"Now why would you ever do something like that, my dear?"

* * *

The glasses bearing boy sighed, and gestured toward the table. The red headed girl he was addressing nodded and hoped up onto said table, allowing her upperclassman full view of the spectacular bruise that had developed on her arm. It was dark grey, and seemed almost to bloom, flower like, in a hand shape, showing where she had been touched.

"Again?" Sighed the boy.

Semira smiled sheepishly in reply. "You could probably just leave it be. It was only for a moment, no serious damage, and its not like I felt anything." The boy gave her a sharp look. She sighed. "But that doesn't really mean anything either."

He touched her arm in the same place that Serio had earlier. When he removed his hand, the bruise was gone. He nodded once, and she smiled again. "Try to be more careful," He instructed, not expecting much of a change. "Make sure you check for other bruises later, okay? And come see me if anything looks even a little wrong."

"Sorry for annoying you." She replied, with a half-bow, as a symbol of gratitude, "Thanks for helping, Imai-senpai."

* * *

Eve awoke remarkably refreshed. A set of clothes had been laid out for her at the foot of her bed, and so she changed, brushed her hair again, and put it into one tight braid so that she wouldn't have to worry about it more that day. She then tried the door, and was not surprised to find that it was locked. Oh well, her old prison cell was far worse.

By the bed was a table, and on it lay a deck of cards. Eve took them and played solitaire as she waited for someone to remember that she was here. When the door opened it was, predictably, the red head.

Semira sat down across from Eve's game of cards and watched for a moment. "Can I trust you?" She asked blandly, after a brief pause.

Eve considered. "Probably not."

The half-smile that played across her enemies mouth made Eve want to smile as well. "That means yes. If you had replied otherwise...." She didn't even say that like a threat, merely stating facts. "Eve, We have Serio's permission to send you to the upstairs world. Congratulations. Your friend Horus is already there." Eve paused, unbelieving. "Of course, there are conditions. Behave, the usual things. It's probably a bad idea to draw to much attention to yourself, people are already surprised since we have had so many new Alices this month."

Eve nodded, listening the advice, and remembering it so that she could use it later if it seemed sound. Semira had stopped talking for a moment, and was staring at Eve, in a rather creepy way. "Are you well?" She asked after a moment, and Eve wondered that the girl's smile had seemed, even for a moment precious.

"Yes."

"Then there is no time like the present. Your new classmates will come pick you up. Good Luck Eve. I hope I never see you again." The last line was, rather than an insult, the kindest thing Semira could have said, and for a moment, Eve wondered if the girl might be lonely. No. People like that don't get lonely, they simply become insane. Which certainly explained the red-head's seeming personality shifts. Before she could say anything in response, Semira had closed the door.

* * *

**Finished! Ah... I wonder if it's as obvious to readers which characters I like as it is to me. I feel like I make them come off as cooler because I like them more . Oh well. ~KagayaMitsukai :3**


	10. Chapter 10

**Here we go. I have no idea how I am going to write this, but I'll do my best. Wish me luck! **

He woke up in a dark room. It was an interrogation-style room, the kind which had been used in this story many times so far. He was sitting in a chair that had been pushed up against the table so that he could not stand up without moving it backward first. Sitting across from him was a redheaded girl, her head propped up in her hands as she rested it on the table.

"Who are you?" He asked angrily. "Where am I?" Had Ryuko escaped? He didn't ask that last one aloud.

"Good Morning" Semira replied cheerfully. "Welcome to hell." He blinked.

"Who are you?" He demanded again.

"Your torturer. Which bring me to a point. I should be the one asking questions."

She took her elbow off the table and reached to her side where a small briefcase he hadn't seen before rested against her chair. She opened it and pulled out a manila folder. "Let's see. What is your name?"

He gave her a look. "I'm not going to tell anything to my self-proclaimed torturer anything."

Semira gave him a look that very clearly questioned his intelligence, and the boy was tempted to yell at her. Not because it would help. Because it would make him feel better. She shrugged, and pulled something out of the folder. It was a picture. She laid in down on the table.

"This is Horus." She said, laying the picture down so he could see it. The boys eyes widened, and he bit his lower lip. Eden was pictured on the table in front of him, unconcious, with a large bruise across her face. "We have the blond too." She laid a matching picture of Eve next to Eden's. "Do you know these girls?"

The boy glanced down at the papers, swallowed inaudibly, then looked back up at the redhead. And said nothing. She sighed. "Let me reintroduce myself. You've probably heard about as much about me as there is known about your Horus. The less-than-creative underworld that named both of us calls me Irkalla."

A series of reactions to that flashed across the boy's face in a matter of seconds. First shock, then disbelief, then panic, which quickly faded into anger. "Rima Masaoka." He said, startling her in return. "Two and a half years ago, you took her and killed her."

Semira paused. "I don't bother remembering such trivial things." She said after a moment, watching his expression carefully.

"Light brown hair. She was twelve at the time. When she drew things, they would come off the paper and to life, it was her Alice." He spewed information, watching her intently as she looked away, trying to recall.

"Masaoka... Oh yes, that one. She died alone, I had to leave the room, and she died while I was gone. Anyway, dear, you haven't told em your name yet."

He hit the table, shaking it, "Murderer! Sadist!" He screamed and several other words that no respectable eleven year old uses. Then he stopped, shook slightly, and fell to the floor.

Semira stood up as his seizure stopped. "I am Irkalla. You, on the other hand, are an idiot." She crouched down next to him and pitched her voice quietly, so that he could barely here it. "Stupid." She said, "You can't win through silence. Tell me something. Give me something to tell them, and protect whoever it is who you are trying to. And quickly, before you can't remember who you are protecting anymore."

He sat up slowly as she stoop and returned to her chair. Getting back in his, he closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands, a symbol of defeat. "Em. My name is Em."

* * *

Ryuko found himself at the airport. That was good, seeing as it was where he had been trying to go. The building was huge, as many airports are, and he entered the large glass doors wearily, and looked around warily. No one suspicious. Of course, he thought, paranoid, that in and of itself was suspicious because normally when walking into a public place with so many people, someone looks out of place. Then, noticing the stares he was getting, Ryuko decided he was just overtired, and the out of place one was him. Running for a day or two without a change of clothes frequently left people looking bedraggled.

He went first to the bathroom, where he washed his face, and ignored more odd looks. Feeling slightly refreshed, and a tad cleaner, he walked back out into the hall, and down towards where the lockers were. Their group never stayed very long in one place, it was unsafe, and so they had been supposed to leave the country in a few days. He didn't remember where they were going to go, but that seemed unimportant now. What mattered was that he knew the code to the lock.

Removing two ticket, he relocked the locker, and hurried to customer help. "Hello, I'd like to reschedule this flight." He said. The flight attendant looked at the dirty blue-haired eleven-year old boy standing in front of her, and raised her eyebrows.

"For when?" She asked.

When. Hmm. His plan still unformed, he replied after a moments pause. "The next possible flight. Also I would like a refund for this ticket, only one person will be traveling."

She shrugged. It was hardly her business. Handing the boy a wad of cash and a new ticket she gestured for the next in line. Ryuko walked away, glancing at his ticket. His flight left in two hours. Most of that time would be taken up in security. Worried about being followed, he hurried off towards the endless lines.

* * *

Eden sighed. School had ended. Finally. The best part about the day was that she could see what was going on during it. The worst part was the day. She followed the large group of chatty girls back to the dorm rooms, wishing they would at least be quiet. As they turned down a large hallway to head to the dining hall, she decided that eating dinner wasn't worth having to sit near them for any longer.

When Eden turned off the path, Mikan looked behind her. The new girl had left. It seemed to her that was going to be a trend. She sighed and hurried after Hotaru to the dinner hall. Maybe she would be more friendly after she adjusted to the school.

Eden opened the door to her room, and closed it behind her slipping quietly into the space that was all hers. Then she paused. Someone else was here. As to arms wrapped abot her from behind she heard Lærke's voice. "It's Eden this time? Well, Welcome Home."

For the first time, Eden smiled, wide and honest. "I'm Home, Lærke."

The blond behind her let her go and returned Eden's smile with a grin of her own. "It's Eve. And you had best tell me all about your school, because I am going with you tomorrow."


	11. Chapter 11

**Well I guess I am back. Which is to say, I know what else I wanna write, so the rest of the world can put up with my crap and read, or go away ^-^ Here it goes, I continue....**

"We have another new student" Narumi happily told the class. Normally, a new student stood alone at the front of the room and gave a brief introduction. Eve however stood, blushing lightly from the public attention, holding hands with Eden, who mentally dared the class to comment. No one dared. The two girls seemed complete opposites. Eden wore jeans under her uniform which she hadn't bothered to tie closed properly. Her long black hair was brushed if you could call dragging a comb through it once brushed. And she met, one by one, the eyes of everyone in the class with a sense of defiance that is uncommon before the teenage years. Eve on the other hand, was blond. Her hair was tied up prettily, with red ribbon holding it back into a pony tail. Her uniform, brand new, was still neatly pressed. But she, instead of looking at her class mates, glanced between the floor and Eden, as if the rest of the world was too frightening. "This is Eve Hadankyou. She is joining us from overseas, so please be kind to her." Eve blushed even more.

"Sit with me." Eden said quietly, and led her friend down the aisle. Still holding hands, Eden showed Eve to their seats, in the back next to Ruka and Natsume. Eve watched the floor as she walked, wishing to avoid the prying eyes. Even Mikan's friendly smile seemed to scare her, saddening the outgoing girl. Still, Mikan thought, they seem so close, which is odd, because I didn't think Eden-san was close to anyone. And she is so pretty! Deciding that they would definitely be friends, she smiled more enthusiastically than before. All she earned for her efforts was a glare from Eden.

"So, today I am going to teach you japanese!" Narumi said, redirecting the classes attention. "Please get out your note books, and take notes, these Kanji will be on the test." Before he could say another word, Natsume stood up and left, followed by Ruka and the others. Eden patted Eve's hand when the girl look concerned, and the class seemed to return to normal.

* * *

"There were only the three of us." Em lied. Semira arched her eyebrows slightly, but nodded. They both knew he was lying. She said nothing.

"There used to be more, you see, but he didn't like to have too many people when we moved. Laerke's siblings with both sold when we moved from Denmark to China; and when we moved from China to Japan he only brought the three of us."

"Who is he?" Semira asked.

"His name is Adam." She nodded. That was right, at least.

"What is your Alice?"

Em glared up at her. An Alice was a good secret to guard; if your enemies didn't know what you could do, they found it much harder to stop you from doing it. He said nothing until Semira arched her eyebrows again. The girl had remarkably expressive eyebrows, he could understand what they were saying. _Do you really want to do this? _He sighed. "Memories. I have the Alice of Memories."

If Semira were startled by that, she didn't show it. Almost as if reciting something, she moved onto her next question. "Can you tell me the names of the people who were with you when Laerke and Horus were taken?" She paused before each girls name, deciding to call them by the names Em would now rather than those that Narumi had given them.

"Adam, Laerke, Horus and I."

"What was Adam's Alice?"

Em had been staring at his hands for a while. Though he had glanced up to note Semira's eyebrows, he had tried to remain submissive. Now he met her eyes. "The same as yours. The Alice of Pain."

Even then, she had no response but a slight twitch of the eyebrows that denoted _I see. _"If her siblings were sold, why did Adam keep Laerke?"

The question startled Em, since it had nothing to do with anything. "Because he wanted to keep e-Horus happy."

"What were you about to call Horus."

"Just one of her other names." Em somehow felt like he should protect that. It wasn't important, it just felt ... sacred. Semira glanced up at him, but said nothing. Then she continued. the interrogation dragged on. Em felt exhausted afterward, even though he had suffered through much less than Laerke.

"We're done. Follow me."

"Where to?" Asked the immediately suspicious Em.

Semira stood without answering and led him out of the room. Em followed cautiously. "This room was set aside for you; stay here for the night. There is a shower and a bathroom; and there is a bed in the corner. If you need anything, holler the hallways echo so someone will here you." Em opened his mouth to say something, but Semira had already spun away, leaving before he could speak. The door locked behind her.

Not realizing the repetition of his own actions; Em showered and quickly combed his hair. When he found the bed in the corner, a brief nap seemed like a good idea. However, he stared at the ceiling for hours until the solace of sleep took him.

* * *

Ryuko waited for the airplane to board. He sat at gate 24, surrounded by people awaiting the same plane. A woman and her toddler were to his left, and the child seemed to be worrying about the plane ride.

"Mommy, is the airplane going to land safely?"

"Of course my dear." Ryuko breathed a quiet sigh of relief, his Alice confirmed that.

"Will everyone be okay? No one will get hurt right?" The mother made comforting coos, rocking her child back and forth, but Ryuko was comforted by the questions not the answers. Everyone would be okay. Now, if there was a way to be sure what his Alice had defined 'okay' as, he would be completely confident. However, that would have been too convient.

"All groups with young children boarding now." Called the flight attendants. The woman and her child left. Ryuko looked at his ticket; row 23 seat F. Slowly the attendant worked his way up the rows, until Ryuko boarded the plane. Once in his seat, he felt secure. A flight to england, what could go wrong?

Sadly, his Alice didn't answer questions he asked himself. Well, he thought while buckling his seat belt, let's just see what happens.

**I just wanted to say that I went back to read previous chapters and discovered that I can't type at all. Besides using the wrong tenses, spellings and 'then vs then's I make numerious typoes. So, I felt like letting you know that I actually am fairly gifted in grammar. in general (NOT A COMPLETE SENTENCE OMG!) Spelling, not so much, but grammar I am usually good at (ENDS SENTENCE WITH PREPOSITION). I just can't type. Sorry for the annoyance ~Kagayamitsukai**


	12. Chapter 12

**right, here we go again!**

Mornings are always the same. No matter where you are no matter what you do, they drag on. Sven glanced down at his watch. 4:00, and Vlad wasn't in bed yet. They had left the kid in the hotel room with blues clues or something playing, but that would only entertain him for so long. Reo looked like he was enjoying the party. They were in a night club; not a standard hang out for an eleven-year-old boy and his three-year-old brother. At the bar, a red headed man, Reo, was deeply involved in a conversation with a pretty girl. No. Make that three pretty girls, and the bartender.

Sven sighed. Regardless of what other activities Reo wanted to get that morning, it was not healthy for a three-year-old to be raised practically nocturnal. Vlad, who normally slept for 2:00 am to 3:00 pm, yawned and rubbed his eyes. That was it.

With all the courage his eleven years presented him, Sven walked over and pulled on Reo's sleeve. "What do you want, kid?" Reo asked, voice slurred with alcohol.

Sven grimaced, disliking the smell of his guardian's breath. "May I please have a hotel key, sir? It grows late for Vlad, and I am tired as well." He said. However Reo had not listened to him. "You see this kid, ladies?" He said, lifting Sven's hand up in the air, as if this would make the woman pay more attention to them both. "World's most gifted musician. *ucking talented kid. Without himm ny whole *ucking band would fall the *uck apart." Sven grimaced again. When drunk, Reo had the tendency to use an excess of profanities. While this only mildly annoyed Sven, he wished the older man would be more mindful of Vlad.

To Sven's dismay, Reo's plan worked. Adult woman, with shirts cut as if they were designed to fall off, leaned forward and cooed at him. He faked a smile back at the blond who was literally crawling into Reo's lap. with her hands half way down Reo's pants. Sven blushed prettily, and looked down. "What do you want, m'boy?" Reo said cheerily.

"Just the room key, sir." Sven repeated. The blond, smiling, took pity on him. She reached into Reo's pocket and pulled out the room key. "Thank you, miss." Sven said, reaching for it.

"You can have it for a kiss." She said, giggling drunkenly. Sven resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but instead leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. At the same time, he stole the room card, lest she make more demands.

She giggled again. "Don't worry kid," She said to his back, "Reo will sleep in my room tonight." Sven did not look back, and instead hurried back to his room. He had no time for such foolery, Vlad should have been in bed hours ago.

* * *

"This time I am sure."

Serio sighed, and pulled some hair out of his face. "Look Semira. Every time we get a kid here about your own age, you go all heroic on me. The kid is lying, right?"

Semira glared at him angrily. She sat on her bed, legs crossed, eating pad Thai from a Chinese food take out box. "Don't you think after all this time, I can tell the liars from those who tell the truth?" She demanded, saving her chopsticks at him angrily.

"I believe you can," Serio's reply was slow, carefully considered, "But I believe that sometime you choose not to. Are you letting this one slide, Mira? Is the kid so pretty that he could be worth using your job for?"

"He's not pretty." Her denial was quick, but she flushed. "He's rash, and angry, and appallingly ignorant. But the kid couldn't lie if he tried, and he knows that. I'd bet my life on it, and yours too." She stuck another bite of Pad Thai in her mouth.

Serio paced back and forth in front of her. "You are giving me cause to not trust you." He said, "You swore similarly for Eve. I can't have you do this for every kid with big eyes and a sop story. I need to be able to trust you as an interrogator."

Semira swallowed, and gave him one of her looks. With large dark blue eye, Semira had Bambi beaten since preschool, but this wasn't a begging face. For a moment, she simply looked sad and tired, the kind of defeated exhaustion that no eleven year old should ever have. "I promise you Serio, just give me this one. The next kid, I'll be mean to. And I can easily deal with adults. But this kid, he doesn't belong here. Let him go to school with Horus and the Blondie, and appreciate all of the happy things. You didn't talk to him, Serio, but he was made to be a happy person. I swear to you I'll never ask again, but let this one be."

Serio sighed, hating to be subjected to the raw emotions of the speech. Such things were usually rehearsed, but this wasn't. It wasn't well enough scripted, that was just how the girl felt.

"Fine, I'll figure something out." He said, and turned to go. But Semira bounded out of bed, and on her tiptoes, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you Serio."

Serio smiled and left her room. Walking out the door of her wing of the basement, he heard "Crap, I spilled Pad Thai on my sheets!" and smiled.

**It's kind of short as far as chapters go, but it's Sven;s entrance. So it's a big deal. ^-^ ~Kagayamitsukai**


End file.
